Who Are Candidates for Neck Pain?

This section is compiled by Frank M. Painter, D.C.
Send all comments or additions to:     Frankp@chiro.org

	Onset of Neck Pain After a Motor Vehicle Accident: A Case-control Study J Rheumatol 2005 (Aug); 32 (8): 1576—1583 In total, 26% of drivers reported post-accident neck pain. Women, younger individuals, and those with a history of neck pain were more likely to report neck pain following their accident. In addition, a number of accident related and psychosocial factors were independently associated with reporting post-accident neck pain: collision from behind; vehicle stationary at impact; collision severity; not being at fault; and monotonous work. Based on these 8 factors, the likelihood of having neck pain increased from 7% with < 2 risk factors to 62% with > 5.
	Predictive Factors for Neck and Shoulder Pain: A Longitudinal Study in Young Adults Spine 2004 (Aug 1); 29 (15): 1662-1669 A random sample of 826 high school students was investigated when they were 15 to 18 years old and again at 22 to 25 years of age. In 7 years, the prevalence of weekly neck and shoulder pain increased from 17% to 28%. Among those who were asymptomatic at baseline, 6-month incidence of occasional or weekly neck and shoulder pain was 59% 7 years later. In an adjusted model, psychosomatic symptoms remained an associated factor for prevalent neck and shoulder pain 7 years later for both females and males. In females, neck and shoulder pain in adolescence was associated with prevalent neck and shoulder pain in adulthood, and sports loading dynamically in the upper extremities was an associated factor for a low prevalence of neck and shoulder pain 7 years later. In separate analyses of incident neck and shoulder pain, psychosomatic stress symptoms predicted neck and shoulder pain in adulthood. You'll find more articles like this at our: Shoulder Page
	A Study on the Prevalence of and Risk Factors for Neck Pain Among University Academic Staff in Hong Kong J Occup Rehabil 2002 (Jun); 12 (2): 77–91 Among those with neck pain during computer processing, 60.3% had a forward head posture. However, a low correlation between psychosocial factors and neck pain was demonstrated (r = 0.343). Academic staff in tertiary institutions could be considered as a high-risk group of job-related neck pain.
	Chiropractic Care of a Patient with Vertebral Subluxations and Unsuccessful Surgery of the Cervical Spine J Manipulative Physiol Ther 2001 (Sep); 24 (7): 477-482 ~ FULL TEXT The chiropractic care of a patient with neck pain and left upper extremity radiculopathy after cervical diskectomy is presented. Marked resolution of the patient's symptoms was obtained concomitant with a reduction in subluxation findings at multiple levels despite the complicating history of an unsuccessful cervical spine surgery. This is the first report in the indexed literature of chiropractic care after an unsuccessful cervical spine surgery.
	Back and Neck Problems Among Dentists and Dental Auxiliaries J Contemp Dent Pract 2001 (Aug 15); 2 (3): 17-30 In the practice of dentistry, stress, tension, and postural practices can contribute to back and neck problems. Two hundred and four dentists and dental auxiliary (87 males and 117 females) in Riyadh city, Saudi Arabia were surveyed to determine the prevalence of postural problems. The candidates were interviewed and observed during practice. The data obtained showed that 111 (54.4%) of the subjects complained of neck pain and 150 (73.3%) complained of back pain.
	A Randomized Clinical Trial of Exercise and Spinal Manipulation for Patients with Chronic Neck Pain Spine (Phila Pa 1976) 2001 (Apr 1); 26 (7): 788–797 For chronic neck pain, the use of strengthening exercise, whether in combination with spinal manipulation or in the form of a high-technology MedX program, appears to be more beneficial to patients with chronic neck pain than the use of spinal manipulation alone. The effect of low-technology exercise or spinal manipulative therapy alone, as compared with no treatment or placebo, and the optimal dose and relative cost effectiveness of these therapies, need to be evaluated in future studies.
	Long-term Outcome After Whiplash Injury: A 2-year Follow-up Considering Features of Injury Mechanism and Somatic, Radiologic, and Psychosocial Findings Medicine (Baltimore) 1995 (Sep); 74 (5): 281–297 Previous studies, however, focused on somatic symptoms on the one hand or considered only psychological or neuropsychological variables on the other hand, often in loosely defined or selected groups of patients. No study so far has analyzed the long-term outcome in a nonselected group of patients using a clear injury definition considering patient history; somatic, radiologic, and neuropsychological findings; and features of the injury mechanisms assessed soon after trauma and during follow-up. With regard to baseline findings the following significant differences were found (on this cohort): Symptomatic patients were older, had higher incidence of rotated or inclined head position at the time of impact, had higher prevalence of pretraumatic headache, showed higher intensity of initial neck pain and headache, complained of a greater number of symptoms, had a higher incidence of symptoms of radicular deficit and higher average scores on a multiple symptom analysis, and displayed more degenerative signs (osteoarthrosis) on X ray.
	Whiplash Injury and Chronic Neck Pain New England Journal of Medicine 1994 (Apr 14): 330 (15): 1083—1084 Whiplash injuries occur in more than 1 million people in the United States every year (1). Although the majority become asymptomatic in a matter of weeks to a few months, 20 to 40 percent have symptoms that are sometimes debilitating and persist for years. This so–called late whiplash syndrome has become one of the most controversial conditions in medicine. Some attribute the persistent symptoms to unresolved injury, whereas others attribute them to underlying psychological factors or the possibility of financial gain.
	Incidence of Common Postural Abnormalities in the Cervical, Shoulder, and Thoracic Regions and their Association with Pain in Two Age Groups of Healthy Subjects Phys Ther 1992 (Jun); 72 (6): 425–431 Subjects with kyphosis and rounded shoulders had an increased incidence of interscapular pain, and those with a forward-head posture had an increased incidence of cervical, interscapular, and headache pain.

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